Hello! My name is Joli (as in ‘Jolly’) and although I was born in America and grew up on the East Coast, I now find myself living in the middle of England with my husband and little-big girl.
My parents emigrated from India to the US in the mid-1960's, so I grew up straddling two very different cultures--one that emphasised all things modern while the other was about all things traditional.
This was not easy to do in the 1970's and 1980's but Jung speaks about something called the Transcendent Function, which progressively unites opposites within a personality--a third higher synthesis, if you will.
Well, I managed to find this when I went to Japan for my junior year abroad in university: the country has a marvellous way of preserving the traditional within a modern context and through syncretizing old world values with new world ways.
I fell in love with Japan, and proceeded to return repeatedly after graduating from university, spending a total of 20 years there, all in all.
In the process of trying to start a family there in my late-30's, I found my path to be a convoluted one; I changed my diet, gave up alcohol for a couple of years, did yoga, Reiki and acupuncture, and finally, IVF.
The IVF process was brutal--for reasons I won't get into here—but it ended with my getting pregnant finally! We had a heartbeat and all seemed to be progressing fine until it didn't. I miscarried somewhat traumatically--as my then doctor predicted I would due to my age. I was 40.
I learned Reiki as a way of practicing self-compassion and made my peace with the world by adopting a second Beagle to join the one my husband and I already had. Exactly one year to the day after Dylan arrived in our home to join his half-sister, Pepper, I gave birth to a beautiful baby girl.
For me, my Reiki practice was a big part of this, but so were the dietary changes, the acupuncture, the yoga, and the thyroid medication an intuitive nurse told me I would need to be on to carry a pregnancy to term.
While in Japan, I also studied a form of Medical QiGong (akin to 'energetic acupuncture') and Aromatherapy. After moving to the UK a few years after that, I was encouraged by my astrologer to offer my therapeutic skills professionally.
This proved to be a successful endeavour at the integrated health clinic I worked in until the pandemic caused the first lockdown here in the UK.
Following encouragement from a few more astrologers I worked with, I decided to super-charge my then hobby-level of astrology by enrolling in more structured learning/coursework and through attending online conferences and workshops.
Coaching then further empowered me to stretch out of my comfort zone and cultivate supplemental skills to complement what I was already offering.
Learning how to coach has helped me create a practice that centres on safety and the sacred. It has helped me develop a heart-centred approach to my clients’ needs and the growth they seek. And it has given me the tools to help clients co-create visions and strategies that can guide them along their evolutionary path.
Life can be both beautiful and cruel and it is important for us to acknowledge all that happens along that spectrum. I am here to be a witness for my clients and hold space for them. And I am here to help them find that place of energetic resonance—the frequency that will lead to flow.
Astrology
Astrology first came into my life as a child when I heard stories of how astrology was used in India, where my parents were born.
As a teenager, I would occasionally read horoscopes in newspapers and magazines, but could not understand why they didn’t feel quite accurate to me.
It was not until I received my first natal chart report from The Astrology Shop in London in 1992 that I had a light-bulb moment of realising that I had a stellium in Pisces, which was at complete odds with my Aquarius Sun (a big dose of watery emotions clashing with a rather airy intellect!).
Ever since then, astrology has become one of my passions and I have marvelled at how it has helped me ‘surf’ the energies around me during times when I felt like I was struggling and/or overwhelmed.
It has also given me greater compassion for the people in my life, as well as a sense of awe at how the cosmos converses with us on a symbolic level.
In addition to several years of self-study through books, various webinars, and online conferences,
I have also completed Chris Brennan's Hellenistic Astrology Course in 2021 and successfully completed both Year 1 and Year 2 courses with Adam Elenbaas at Nightlight Astrology.
While my most recent training has been in mainly Hellenistic techniques, I consider myself a hybrid astrologer and will employ tools from both modern and traditional practices that feel relevant to a particular consultation.
Other teachers I have learned from (and continue to learn from in many cases!) include: Dr. Ali A Olomi, Gray Crawford, Austin Coppock, Demetra George, Caroline Casey, Laurence Hillman, Bepin Behari, Michele Adler, Robert Blaschke, and Alice O Howell.
My particular interests at the moment include looking specifically at the nodal axis and co-natal (pre-natal and post-natal) eclipses, as well as the Decans and Dodecatemoria, or Twelfth Parts (smaller slices of the zodiac signs within the signs for further nuance).
Reiki
My first experience of Reiki was in Thailand when a lovely German woman told me that I was not in a place where I could get pregnant. She told me my “branches [were] bare” and that I would need to tend my “roots” and practice self-care before I could carry a baby.
She was right—and as I thought my fertility journey was winding down (see bio above), I undertook my Levels I & II Reiki training in Japan, where I was living at the time. I successfully completed my Master Practitioner training in 2013 and went on to complete my Teacher training in 2019.
I am registered with the Complementary & Natural Healthcare Council (CHHC) and am a Verified Reiki practitioner with The Reiki Association and The Reiki Council.
One benefit of the CNHC registration is that it is a quality mark that is recognised for reimbursement with a number of private health cash plan providers.
This means that clients who are members of the relevant plans can claim the cost of the treatments when they visit CNHC registered complementary therapists.
And what does it mean to be a Verified Reiki Practitioner?
This is what it says on The Reiki Council website: "For members of the public, it means being certain that a practitioner has the experience, knowledge, skills and understanding to run a professional Reiki practice and that their lineage and qualifications have been checked."
Coaching
After offering Reiki for some years and doing a number of astrology consultations, I felt like something was missing. I realised that I needed to figure out a way to efficiently bring more to my client sessions in order to effectively highlight the insights and awareness that were coming to the surface.
I came across the work of Joanna Lindenbaum’s Applied Depths Institute and after following her on social media for some time (and engaging with her amazing free content), I joined her Sacred Depths Practitioner course at the start of 2022.
This has been a game-changer for me. In taking the time to really delve into the concepts of energetics, deep listening, and the difference between breakthrough and transformation, I have learned so much about myself.
I have been exploring the filters I hold in my views on the world and working on how I experience the myths of perfection. I have been studying the Wheel of Self-Sabotage and understanding how best to trust the wisdom within.
My training with Joanna and work with my coaching buddies over the last year has honed my skills in visioning and strategising so that I can help clients become who they are and move towards where they would like to be.
Working with a coach has shown me how valuable it is to be held in a heart-centred space by someone who can ask masterful questions. Creating awareness and gently initiating self-discovery helps fuel learning and growth.
Other Modalities
In addition to my Reiki training, I have studied with Maeda-Sensei of Medical School Navia in Osaka and was the first non-Japanese graduate to be certified in 2013 in his system of Qigong and Aromatherapy Healing.
Ever the student, I am continuing my studies of the different aspects of healing, and am currently studying online about the impact of stress on our nervous system with Irene Lyon.
Additionally, I am working on a further certification in Aromatherapy with Andrea Butje’s Aromahead Institute and hope to offer stand-alone aromatherapy sessions in the future.